Christie (Agatha) Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

London, Collins Crime Club, 1964.

Later impression. 8vo. Original orange boards. Dust-jacket.

First published in 1934 (in America, less edifyingly as The Boomerang Clue), this is Christie in breezy standalone mode: Bobby Jones (the vicar’s son, not the golfer, a distinction the opening chapter enjoys) finds a dying man on a cliffside whose last words supply the title, and investigates with the aristocratic Frankie Derwent in tow. The question proved durable enough to be re-asked twice on screen, including Hugh Laurie’s well-received 2022 adaptation.

Incidentally, Christie’s own account of the title is rather lovely: she said the idea came from visiting a friend for tea, whose brother tossed aside a book he was reading and said “Not bad, but why on earth didn’t they ask Evans?”, and she decided on the spot that a future book would bear that title, before knowing who Evans would even be.